Epidemic
by MCFan008
Summary: I got a request for a story about the flu Sharon was recovering from in the first episode, so here it is! There's no heart thing and NO ONE DIES. The only "canon" is that Sharon has the flu.
1. Chapter 1

**I'd decided to stop writing, but I got a request for a little prequel to last week's episode describing the flu Sharon was recovering from. I'm recovering from the flu, myself, so I went for it :). Rusty seemed a little too not-self-involved, so I wondered if he'd gotten it first and felt guilty that she might have caught it from him, so I started with him.**

 **Also, I loved MikUSC's description of Sharon not being a snuggly sleeper, so (with her permission) I included a variation of that when she started to get sick in this chapter. On that note, if you haven't read Freaking Out, I highly recommend it! It does a great job of balancing the story with material for both Shandy and mothership fans.**

Sharon looked up from her coffee cup as Andy came in the kitchen one Tuesday morning in October. "Is Rusty up yet?"

Andy shook his head. "No, but he doesn't have class until this afternoon, right?"

Sharon nodded. "He's going to court with Andrea this morning, though. They're supposed to get a verdict, and he's been looking forward to being there for it." He was usually good about getting up with his alarm, so it was odd that he wasn't awake yet. She walked down the hall and knocked on his door before opening it. "Rusty, it's time to get up." When the lump under his comforter didn't move, she went farther in and opened his blinds. "Rusty! If you don't get up now, you're going to be late."

"I'm uuuuuuuupppppppp," Rusty moaned as he slowly sat up. He regretted that decision when he started coughing and immediately flopped back down.

"Rusty!" Sharon rushed over to his bed and sat beside him. She put her hand on his forehead without bothering to ask if he was okay. He obviously wasn't.

"I feel like crap, Mom."

"I can tell, honey. You feel like your temperature's a little high. Do you feel achy?" Rusty nodded. "You probably have the flu. It's been going around at work, and it's probably going around campus, too. I'll be right back." Sharon went to the kitchen and sifted through the medicine cabinet for the thermometer and Tylenol.

What's wrong?" Andy asked, seeing the items in Sharon's hand.

"Rusty woke up with a high fever. I'm afraid he has the flu." Sharon poured a glass of juice and went back to his room. She pulled his comforter back and slipped the thermometer into his mouth. "103.4," she sighed a couple of minutes later. "I'll make you a doctor's appoi—"

"Noooo, Mom, Tamiflu tears my stomach up. It doesn't really help, anyway." Sharon had dragged him to the doctor the last time he had the flu, and the stupid medicine hadn't done much but make him throw up.

Sharon hadn't had the flu since Emily and Ricky were in elementary school, which was before Tamiflu was available, but she remembered thinking that it didn't help Rusty as much as she'd thought it would when he had it in high school, so she agreed. "Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. I'll come check on you at lunch, and I'll leave early this afternoon." She was tempted to stay home with him, but she had to remind herself that he was twenty-one. That didn't make it any easier for her to leave her sick son by himself, though. He looked miserable. She opened the Tylenol bottle and fished out a couple of tablets. "Here, take these." Rusty groaned as he sat up and took the pills and the glass of juice from her. "I'm guessing you don't want any breakfast?" Rusty grimaced and shook his head. Sharon tucked him back in after he'd swallowed the pills and kissed his forehead. "Don't forget to text Andrea and let her know not to expect you for the rest of the week. Need anything before I leave?" He shook his head again. He kind of wished she would stay with him, but he was way too old for that. "Okay. _Call or text me_ if you need me. There's not much going on today, so it's not a problem for me to come home." Sharon patted his back and started to leave the room, but another thought occurred to her. "Are you sure you don't need to go to the doctor? Are you missing a test or anything that you would need a medical excuse for? Or do you need one for missing internship hours this week?"

" _No_ , Mom, I don't have anything like that until finals," Rusty answered irritably from under his covers. "My internship hours just matter for the quarter. I can make them up next week, it doesn't matter if I don't do a certain amount this week."

" _Okay_ ," Sharon said, smiling as she mimicked his annoyed tone. "Let me know if you need anything."

By Friday, Rusty wasn't feeling any better, so Sharon decided to work from home. Julio was now out with the flu, which confirmed that it had found its way to Major Crimes. She knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of them started dropping like flies. While Andy was getting dressed that morning, she sat on the couch, still in her pajamas, and sipped her coffee as she watched the news. "You're not going to work?" Andy asked when he came in for breakfast.

Sharon shook her head. "I'm just going to work from here today. Rusty's fever hasn't budged. I didn't wake him up when I checked on him, but he still looks terrible, and I heard him coughing all night. Being alone when you're sick isn't any fun, even as an adult, and I have plenty I can get done today from home."

Andy was only surprised that it had taken her this long to stay home. She was holding on to Rusty's childhood as long as she could. He couldn't really blame her, though. Most of his actual childhood had been terrible, and he knew she was still trying to make up for it.

Once Andy was gone, Sharon got another cup of coffee and sat at her desk to work. A little after 10:00, she got up to make her mom's recipe for chicken soup. Rusty hadn't had an appetite, but he had to be in a coma to not want her mom's soup. Once it was cooking on the stove, she put clean sheets and a pillow on the couch in case he wanted to watch TV. She was about to go check on him when he shuffled into the living room and flopped beside her on the couch. "Mo-om, I feel like hell."

"I know you do." Sharon gave him a sympathetic smile and felt his forehead. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the doctor? It's too late to take Tamiflu, but she might be able to give you something to ease the symptoms. Or it may not even be the flu."

Rusty shook his head. "It feels like the flu, just worse than the last time I had it."

"All right. I've heard that the strain that's going around is pretty bad. Let me get you some Tylenol."

"'Kay...Wait, what are you still doing here? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, honey. I had some things I could do from home today, and I didn't want to leave you alone again. I know you would've been fine, but it's nice to have some company when you're sick."

" _Why_ do you have to take my temperature ten times a day?!" Rusty whined, eyeing the thermometer in Sharon's hand when she got back from the kitchen.

" _Why_ do you have to complain every time?" Sharon responded. "And it's hardly ten times a day. Stop whining and open up." Rusty scowled as the thermometer beeped at slow intervals. "Hmm, still a little high," Sharon reported a minute later and handed him some Tylenol and a glass of water. She worked at her desk for the rest of the morning while Rusty watched TV. After lunch, she joined him on the couch and ran her fingers through his hair as he lay beside her. When Andy got home that evening with take-out for him and Sharon, they were both asleep on the couch. He changed clothes and walked over to the couch. He hated to wake her up, but she looked uncomfortable. He leaned down and kissed her until her eyes started to flutter. "Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Sharon rubbed her eyes and fumbled for her glasses on the table beside the couch. "Yeah. That last movie we watched must've put us both to sleep."

"How's Rusty feeling?"

"Not any better." Sharon carefully edged away from him and stood up. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too." Andy unpacked the take-out boxes while Sharon got out a couple of plates. "The flu has definitely hit the ninth floor. Mike and Wes both had to leave early today."

"Ugh, I'm starting to regret putting off my flu shot," Sharon groaned. "Do _not_ say 'I told you so,'" she threatened, pointing a fork in Andy's direction.

"Okay, okay, I won't...But I did," Andy smirked.

Later that night, after being asleep for a couple of hours, Sharon woke up freezing. She usually hated for someone else to be touching her while she slept, but she spooned herself against Andy, trying to get warm. He woke up in the process and turned over to face her. "Hmm, look who can't stay on her side of the bed," he teased, completely misunderstanding her intentions.

"Shut _up_ , it's just _freezing_ in here," Sharon mumbled irritably. She'd been gradually bumping up the thermostat during the last couple of days when Rusty complained of being cold, but Andy must've turned it back down before they went to bed.

"Sharon. It's 74 degrees in here. It's not cold...Wait a minute." Andy pulled the comforter back and held his hand to her forehead. He wasn't any good at this, but he was pretty sure she felt too warm. "I think you have a fever."

Now that she thought about it and was a little more alert, Sharon realized that she did feel achy and had a sore throat. She wasn't about to admit it, though. "I'm _fine_ , Andy, I'm just cold."

"If you say so." Andy kissed her forehead and held her until she fell asleep, trying to keep her warm.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews and messages, everyone! For those of you asking why I stopped writing, there are some gems in the reviews. I deleted most of the whiny reviews on my other stories, but I left them this time so everyone could see what I'm talking about.**

On Saturday morning, the first thing Sharon noticed was that Andy was practically on top of her. She started to push him off of her, but she realized she was freezing. Her head was pounding, and everything felt heavy and achy. As her mind cleared, she remembered having to sit up several times during the night to cough. She stumbled to the bathroom to rid herself of the glass of water she now remembered Andy bringing her at some point during the night and went across the hall to check on Rusty. His bed was empty, but she could hear the TV on in the living room. She put a pair of pajama pants on under her nightgown to warm up a little before going to see about Rusty.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Sharon asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she stepped into the living room. She hadn't paid attention to what time it was before she got out of bed, but she looked outside and could see that the sun was only beginning to rise. Rusty looked at her over the back of the couch from his half-sitting-up, half-lying position. "Couldn't sleep. I don't feel like sleeping all the time anymore, but I still feel like something beat the shit out of me and left me for dead, so here we are."

"I'm sorry, honey. You shouldn't feel too bad for much longer, though. Have you taken anything?" Sharon leaned over the back of the couch and kissed his forehead. She couldn't really tell how warm he felt with her own temperature being thrown off, but his cheeks weren't as flushed, and his eyes looked a little clearer than they had the day before. She accidentally coughed a little before she could turn her head away.

" _Gross_ , Mom, did Mimi not teach you to cover your mouth when you cough?!" Rusty huffed, dramatically wiping at his face. "And I just took some Tylenol."

Sharon ignored him and looked closely at him for another moment.. "I think your temperature's a little lower today...And it's a little too late for you to be worried about germs."

Rusty's eyes widened. "Damn it, Mom, are you sick, too?"

"No, I don't feel that bad." She knew she wasn't fooling anyone, but she just wanted to be left alone. She sat beside Rusty on the couch, her limbs feeling too heavy to take anymore steps for another blanket or the Tylenol.

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Oh, god, here we go. Why can't you just admit to being sick?"

"Shut up and give me some of your blanket."

"Mo-om, I don't feel good," Rusty whined. "Tell Darth to pipe down."

" _Darth_ has no sympathy when you make your mother sick, young man."

"You can't pin that on me," Rusty pointed out. "You're the one who always insists on treating me like a toddler when I'm sick."

" _Why_ are you bringing facts into this?" Sharon moaned. "And I probably caught it at work, anyway, Mike and Wes are sick, too. You're just the one that's here, and I need someone to blame this on."

"Yeah, not getting your flu shot yet has _nothing_ to do with it."

"At least I don't nearly pass out at the sight of a needle," Sharon muttered. Trying to talk him into a flu shot was a battle she'd stopped trying to fight long ago.

"And do you see me passing blame? I knew the risks."

" _What_ is the bickering about?" Andy mumbled, stumbling into the living room. "And why can't it wait for a time other than the crack of dawn on a Saturday?" He hadn't slept very well, anyway. Sleeping with Sharon in his arms hadn't been what he'd thought it would be. Her sharp elbows and cold feet hadn't stayed as stationary as one would've hoped.

"I brought facts into Mom's argument, and Darth didn't like it."

Andy nodded knowingly. "I can relate, kid. How are you guys feeling?"

"Like shit," Rusty immediately volunteered, not hesitating to voice his plight.

"Just leave me _alone_ ," Sharon gasped between coughs. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, you sound like it." Andy had his hand on her forehead before she could avoid it. "Damn, you're hot."

"I know, but Rusty doesn't want to hear that," Sharon mumbled, still trying to get away from his hand.

"Ewwww, Mom, it's _way_ too early for you guys to be gross!"

Andy rolled his eyes. "The _other_ kind of hot. This will actually be easier than I thought. Your reflexes are a joke."

" _Andy_!" Sharon huffed. "All right, fine. Just know I'll remember this when I'm _well_ again," she said meaningfully. If he didn't want the threat of a temporary penis embargo hanging over his head, then he'd stop being an ass. Okay, fine, he wasn't really being an ass, but the hour was early and her mood was foul.

"Okay, okay." Andy smoothed her hair back and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you guys need anything?"

"More juice for me, and Mom needs Tylenol and another blanket," Rusty reported. "She's trying to freeze me to death."

"I think I can take care of that. And I don't think there's any danger of anyone freezing to death in here." Andy got the pillows from their bed, found another blanket, and spread it over Sharon before getting drinks for her and Rusty and the Tylenol. She accepted the pills from his offered hand and took them without protest. "Do you—"

"I'm _fine_ , just let me sleep."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be right here." Andy lifted her head long enough to put a pillow under her and pushed her hair out of her face.

Sharon's expression softened as she got more comfortable and closed her eyes. "Hmm."

"That was 'thank you' in Grumpy Mom," Rusty informed Andy.

" _Not_ grumpy," Sharon murmured. "I'll deal with you when I wake up."

"Uh-huh." Rusty grabbed the other pillow Andy had brought in and lay down as he flipped through the channels on the TV.

Andy pulled one of the chairs over to the couch and watched Sharon as she fell asleep. He didn't want to annoy her, but he wished she'd let him do more for her. He looked over at Rusty. "So, kid, any survival tips for the next week or so? I never dreamed she'd be such a grouch when she's sick!"

Rusty nodded. "Yeah, I didn't, either. I mean, I guess I never thought about her getting sick at all before the first time after I moved in. She somehow never caught anything from me, even though she was always in my face, but she's brought some random shit home a couple of times...And then immediately passed it to me." Rusty sat up and took a few sips of juice. "Just try to treat her normally. I mean, bring her stuff when she needs it and do stuff for her, but don't, like, ask her how she's feeling every two seconds. I know she's a pro at that, but she gets annoyed when she's not the one hovering."

"Okay...That makes sense. But should I make her check her temperature? That's the first thing she did with you the other morning."

"God, no. That's just asking for her to get pissed off. It has to be her idea. But, there _is_ an ear thermometer in the medicine cabinet if you're really worried. You can check it while she's asleep."

"I like the way you think." Andy got up and retrieved the thermometer. He waited until he was sure Sharon was deeply asleep before slipping the thermometer into her ear. "103.2...Isn't that kind of high?"

Rusty shrugged. "Mine was something like that the morning I got sick, and the Tylenol will help. I've never seen her too worried about a fever unless it's 104 or just won't go down."

"All right...I never did this, though, agreed?"

Rusty shook his head. "You think I want to be a material witness in another murder? Your secret's safe with me."


	3. Chapter 3

By Sunday afternoon, Sharon wasn't feeling any better, and Rusty was still miserable, too. Rusty was leaning against her on the couch as they both slept off and on. Neither had had much of an appetite for most of the weekend, but Andy was cooking soup, hoping he could talk them into eating something. Sharon woke up from a fairly long nap and was a little disoriented. She'd been lying against Andy when she fell asleep, with Rusty lying against her. Rusty hadn't moved and was unconscious, but Andy had been replaced with her bed pillow. She could vaguely smell soup cooking through her stuffed-up nose. While she didn't have much of an appetite, she thought that hot soup would probably feel good on her sore throat. Andy appeared beside her a few moments later. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Sharon swatted his hand away before he could touch her forehead and gave him an irritable _how do you think I'm feeling_ look. Andy ignored her and leaned down to kiss her forehead before she could turn away from him. "You still feel hot, Sharon, I wish you'd let me take you to the doctor tomorrow." He patted her back as a coughing fit wracked her body.

Sharon rolled her eyes. He'd been grating on her last nerve for most of the weekend. "I've barely been sick for two days, Andy. Rusty's temperature didn't really start to go down until his third or fourth day with this. I'm fine." She looked down at Rusty and ran her fingers through his hair. "I may take him tomorrow, though, if he still has a fever. His temperature should be normal, or close to it, by now."

Andy sighed in exasperation. "If anyone's taking anyone anywhere, then I'm taking both of you."

" _I'm_ not going anywhere," Rusty mumbled. "I know Mom looks bad, Andy, but this flu is just brutal. It's a lot worse than the last time I had it. She'll be fine." Rusty didn't feel as bad as Sharon did, but he had just a couple of days ago.

Andy held his hands up in surrender. "All right, fine, but if you guys are going to double-team me, then you're going to have to eat something."

"Fine. I'm actually kind of hungry," Rusty answered.

"Well, that's good news." Andy went to the kitchen and came back with two bowls of soup, spoons, and the thermometer. He gave Sharon her soup, but handed Rusty the thermometer before giving him his. "Here, kid, let's get a reading on you before you eat." Rusty started to protest, but a warning glare from Sharon stopped him. He obediently took the thermometer and shoved it into his mouth. "100.8, not bad," Andy said, after checking the thermometer a few moments later. It would make him feel a little better to check Sharon's, too, but he knew that wouldn't go well. He gave Rusty his soup and and refilled empty glasses of juice and water. Sharon looked like she was struggling to eat, but a vicious side-eye stopped Andy from trying to help her.

Sharon was ready to go to bed before 9:00, but she was trying to wait Rusty out so she could make sure he was comfortable and had everything he needed before he went to sleep. They had resumed their domino-like position on the couch after dinner, and she had an arm wrapped around Rusty, who was lying on her while she lay against Andy. She had to admit that it felt good to have someone to comfort her when she didn't feel well, but if he could just do that _silently_...

"Rusty? Aren't you ready for bed?" Sharon asked, seeing that his eyes were getting heavy.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Just don't really want to move," Rusty admitted sheepishly. He knew he was way too old to rely on his mom for comfort, but damn this felt good.

"Come on, honey. I'll lie down with you until you fall asleep." Sharon gave him two Tylenol and got a glass of water for him before leading him to bed. Rusty had given up on trying to stop her from doing things like that for him. He would've easily welcomed it if she wasn't sick, too, but she hadn't let that stop her. He felt bad about it, but he got a Darth Glare any time he brought it up. He let Sharon tuck him in and sighed contentedly as she lay down beside him and rubbed his back. He was going to miss this once he was on his own.

"Mom? It's okay to let me take care of myself, and to let Andy take care of you," Rusty said.

"I know...I just like to be the one doing the 'taking care of.' It's been that way for a long time, and I'm not ready to give that up yet." Sharon leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, honey. Feel better." Once he was asleep, she got ready for bed and went to sleep, herself.

The next morning, Andy got up with his alarm, but he lay in bed, trying to decide whether to go to work. It felt wrong to leave Sharon when she was still so sick, but he'd mentioned staying home with her today the night before, and she'd adamantly refused. Was that some sort of test, though? Was she going to get pissed at him if he went to work, despite insisting that he do just that? Damn, Sandra had messed him up.

Sharon rolled over when she realized Andy's alarm had gone off, but he still hadn't gotten up. "Go check...temperature..." She mumbled. "Rusty's. May take him..."

Andy shook his head. Of course the kid was her first thought, even though she was sicker than he was. "I know he's still not feeling well, but he's gotten a bit better. You're the one I'm worried about. Are _you_ feeling any better?"

"Uh-huh." Sharon shifted closer to Andy, seeking warmth.

Andy rolled his eyes. "You are not."

"Then why'd you _ask_?" Sharon grumbled irritably.

Andy chuckled. "A little whinier, and you could've passed for Rusty just a few days ago when you two had this exact conversation."

"Mmmmph." Sharon pulled the covers over her head. "You're not staying home, by the way," her muffled voice sounded from under the covers.

Andy sighed. "Sharon, come on. You're in no shape to be by yourself. The kid's feeling a little better, but he still needs to rest, too—"

"I've had the flu with no help before, and Rusty and I have been sick at the same time before, too. We've survived just fine."

Andy gave up and started to get ready for work. He brought Sharon some Tylenol and a fresh glass of water before he left. "I'll come check on you guys at lunch. Do you need anything?"

"Nuh-uh." Sharon sat up long enough to swallow the pills and curled up under the covers again. "Thanks..." she mumbled.

"You're welcome." Andy pulled the covers back just enough to kiss her forehead. He winced at the heat he felt. "Call me if you need me."

By Wednesday, Sharon was finally off of death's doorstep, and Rusty was getting better, but they were both still coughing, congested, and weak and achy. Neither one of them would likely be returning to school or work until the next week. Andy called Sharon late Wednesday afternoon with the news that Julio's mom was being admitted to the hospital because of flu complications and that Mark was staying with them for the night. He'd already been exposed to the flu with both Julio and his mom, so Julio hadn't wanted to ask his mom's neighbor to keep him. Mark hadn't shown any symptoms, but Julio would've felt guilty if he got sick while he was with the neighbor and she got sick, too. Of the other members of the team, Mark was the most comfortable with Sharon, and Julio had already checked his homework, so they just had to feed him dinner, make sure he took a shower and was in bed at a reasonable time, and get him to school the next day, all of which Andy could take care of.

Sharon hung up the phone and explained to Rusty what was going on, as he was on the couch beside her and could only hear her end of the conversation. "I don't mind him staying here, I just don't really know where to put him," Sharon said. "Neither of us should be that contagious anymore, but if he gets sick..."

"I can sleep out here, and I'll change my sheets and Lysol everything down," Rusty volunteered.

"We have an air mattress somewhere, I don't want to kick you out of your own bed."

Rusty shrugged. "It's fine. I like to sleep with the TV on, anyway."

"Thanks, honey." Sharon started to get up to put clean sheets on his bed, but Rusty pushed her back down.

"Mom. I'm a lot better now, I can do this. If you even think about getting off of the couch, then I'm going back to school tomorrow." Rusty still didn't feel too well, but he was getting bored and restless about missing so much class. Sharon had managed to talk him into resting for a few more days that morning, afraid that he'd do too much too soon and either relapse or stop getting better, but it hadn't been easy. "I know you feel like you're losing control, or whatever, but I can handle this." He disappeared down the hall before Sharon could glare at him.

Andy got home with Mark and take-out for dinner close to 7:00. Still not having much of an appetite, Sharon picked at her soup and salad, but Rusty inhaled his burger and fries. It was the first real meal he'd eaten in a week. After dinner, Sharon was lying on the couch while Andy argued with Mark about getting in the shower, so she slipped back to Rusty's room, got his pajamas out of his bag, and went back to the living room. "Come on, Mark, it's time to take a shower," she said in a tone that left no room for argument. She led him down the hall to the bathroom, got out a towel and washcloth for him, and closed the door behind her before going back to the living room.

" _How_ did you do that?" Andy asked.

"I don't negotiate with terrorists—uh, kids," Sharon answered.

Andy grinned. "That's very patriotic of you."

Sharon smiled back at him. "I thought so, too."

When Mark got out of the shower, Sharon let him find a movie on Netflix to watch before he went to bed. He looked so sweet in his pajamas, bare-footed and with wet hair. He started looking drowsy halfway through the movie, so Sharon put a pillow in her lap, and he readily lay down. She forgot until he was already lying down that she was trying to keep him from getting sick, but she figured it would be okay as long as she avoided his hands and face. He seemed a little lethargic, so she guessed that he was tired, worried about Julio's mom, and maybe even missing home. She scratched his back and ran her fingers through his hair as they watched the movie, hoping to make him feel more comfortable with them. When the movie was over, she thought that getting him to bed was going to be a challenge, but he obediently followed her down the hall when she suggested that it was bedtime. She got his clothes out for the next day while he brushed his teeth and used the bathroom, then tucked him into Rusty's bed. It had been a long time since she'd taken care of a younger child, and she was enjoying it. "Goodnight, honey." Sharon leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Sweet dreams. If you wake up tonight and need anything, you can come wake us up, okay?" Mark nodded and curled up, already half-asleep. The ease with which he went to bed should've tipped Sharon off that something was wrong, but she was too relieved that getting him to bed hadn't been a struggle to dwell on it. She went back to the living room to give Rusty some medicine and to kiss him and Andy goodnight before going to bed.

On Thursday morning, Sharon woke up to the sounds of Andy making breakfast for Mark and intermittent coughing that wasn't coming from Rusty, although she could hear him coughing, too. She was soaked in sweat, and her sheets felt grimy, so she guessed that her fever had finally broken sometime during the night. From the coughs and Mark's weak-sounding voice coming from the kitchen, though, she guessed that there was a new victim. She hated that Mark wasn't feeling well, but she was relieved with the timing, as this meant that he'd most likely caught the flu from Julio or his mom rather than from her or Rusty. He never complained of feeling sick, so she silently willed Andy to ask him if he felt okay, but she heard Mark brushing his teeth and a "Let's get going, kid," from Andy a few minutes later. Sharon groaned softly as she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. Not surprisingly, Mark's cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked glassy and weak.

"Mark? Honey, are you feeling all right?" Mark didn't answer, but he looked relieved to see Sharon. She cradled him against her side and felt his forehead. "He can't go to school, Andy, he's running a fever." She looked back down at Mark. "Go put your pjs back on and get in bed, and I'll be right there, okay?" Mark nodded gratefully and retreated down the hall. "Did you not hear him coughing?" Sharon asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"Well, yeah, but that's all I've heard around here for the last week!" Andy defended himself. "He just kind of blended in."

Sharon smiled. "I guess you're right."

Andy looked down the hall and back at Sharon. "So, now what?"

"Mark will be fine here with us, but you need to call Julio. He'll need to call St. Joesph's to tell them he'll be absent, and he may want to make an appointment with his pediatrician. And would you mind going to the pharmacy down the street? We need some Children's Tylenol, popsicles, and Pedialyte."

" _Pedialyte_? He's nine!"

"It has less sugar than Gatorade, and I probably won't be able to get him to drink much else," Sharon said reasonably. "Did he eat much breakfast?"

Andy shook his head. "Not really."

"That's fine. I remember Emily's and Ricky's pediatrician telling me that it was okay if they didn't want to eat, but that they did need to stay hydrated when they were sick."

"All right. I'll be right back." Andy kissed Sharon's forehead, but gave her an odd look when he realized how clammy she felt. She did finally feel cool to the touch, though.

"Fever broke," Sharon explained.

"It's about time. Do you need anything while I'm out?"

Sharon considered trying to think of a female-specific something that would embarrass him to jokingly ask him to get for her, but she couldn't think quickly enough, and she knew she'd been grouchy, so it wasn't really fair to tease him like that. "No, we're pretty set on everything else."

"Okay. Be back soon." Andy pecked her on the lips and walked out the door.

Sharon retrieved the thermometer from the medicine cabinet and went to see about Mark. She was a little surprised that he hadn't complained first thing that morning, given his record of complaining about pretty much everything, but she also remembered thinking the same thing about Rusty the first time he got sick. She crossed the room and sat on the edge of Rusty's bed. Mark turned toward her and gave her a miserable look. "What's the matter? Can you tell me what hurts?"

"All over," Mark muttered.

Sharon gave him a sympathetic smile and brushed his hair back from his face. "I'm afraid you've caught the flu. Andy went to get some medicine for you, and he'll be back soon." She held up the thermometer. "I need to check your temperature, okay?" Mark opened his mouth for the thermometer without protest, and Sharon held it in his mouth and smoothed her hand over his forehead while she waited for it to beep. "103.3. That's high, but the medicine will help. Do you need anything?"

Mark shook his head and snuggled against her. "I miss Mama," he admitted.

Sharon teared up and held him a little closer to her. "I know you do. If there's anything special she did for you when you were sick, you can tell me. I know I can't take her place, but I'm happy to do anything that will help you feel better."

"This feels good."

"Okay, honey. Let me know if you need anything."

 **A/N: I'm guessing Julio and his mom went to St. Joseph's, based on the priest mentioning his mom dying and that he was going to visit Julio. I'm also guessing that Mark goes to school there from Julio mentioning that the missing boys was making him afraid to go to school. That could've meant school, in general, and not specifically St. Joseph's, but it seemed to me like that's what was being implied in the episode, so that's what I went with.**

 **Also, I know that there's not much interaction with Mark and Sharon on the show, but with him being in the wedding, I thought they might be closer than they seem. I know it had a lot to do with casting/wanting all of the main characters in the wedding party, but I still thought it was a bit random for Mark to be in it. Just a gentle reminder that this is fanfiction, and that the show reveals very little of the characters' personalities, so no one has much room to say what's right or wrong, here. Not that it matters, because, again, this is fanfiction. :) :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**The last few episodes killed my desire to write, but I'm finally back with it. This story will end right before the events of the first episode of the last season, but even though I'm not going further than that, I still want to clarify that the sickness ends with the flu. After the end of this story, there's no heart condition or death or any of that. Sharon and Andy go to Ireland and feed each other potatoes in the nude and act sickeningly and disgustingly sweet and have lots of naked time.**

 **As a reminder, Julio's mom is in the hospital with the flu, and Mark is staying with Sharon and Andy, but he came down with the flu in the last chapter. This picks up later the morning that he got sick.**

 **Thanks so much for the reviews/favorites/follows!**

Sharon started to drift off a little while later, but she jerked awake when she heard Andy come in with some children's medicine. Mark wasn't far away from falling asleep, either. Andy read the dosage instructions, got out two pills, and handed them and a glass of pedialyte to Mark. "Here, kid, chew these up. You can have half of another one, but I need to cut it."

"I'll be right back." Sharon patted Mark's arm and followed Andy down the hall. "Did you talk to Julio?" She asked once they were in the kitchen.

"Yeah. He's going to take Mark to his pediatrician this afternoon." Andy got another pill from the box of the children's cold and flu medicine and carefully cut it in half.

Sharon nodded. "Did he say anything about his mom?"

"I don't think she's doing too well. He didn't say much, but he sounded worried."

"That's awful. I hope she's okay." Sharon took the fractured pill from Andy. "I'll take this."

"Okay...Are you sure you're up for this? I can stay home if you need help with Mark."

Sharon shook her head. "We'll be fine. I'm starting to feel better, and Mark's just going to sleep or lie around. Rusty can go get lunch or anything else we may need. He's probably starting to go a little stir-crazy, anyway." He was feeling better, but not well enough to go back to school yet.

"All right..." Andy kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you're feeling a little better."

"You and me, both." Sharon checked on Rusty, who was still sleeping on the couch, and went back to his room to give Mark the pill. He curled up against her and went back to sleep, and Sharon followed suit not long after that. She woke up a little while later and read on her phone while Mark continued sleeping against her. She could hear Rusty fiddling around in the kitchen, and she hoped he was cooking her mom's chicken soup. He'd done it before and had gotten closer to the real thing than she ever had. That was about the only thing she could think of that she'd want to eat. She'd made some a few days before and would've rationed it a little better if she'd known she would get sick, but she hadn't gotten sick from taking care of one of her children since Emily and Ricky were in elementary school. A little before noon, Mark hadn't moved, and the familiar smell of her mom's soup wafted back to Rusty's room. Sharon eased out of bed and padded down the hall. Rusty was standing at the stove and stirring the soup, and she stood beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks, honey. That smells great."

"Well, I did get you sick, so..."

Sharon smiled and rested against him. "We don't know that. I could've caught the flu at work just as easily as from you. You were just easier to blame. I know I hide it well, but being sick makes me a little grouchy."

"Really? I had _no_ idea," Rusty mockingly replied.

" _Watch_ it, young man." Sharon kissed his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. My throat still kind of hurts, and this cough is still annoying, but I'm not nearly as tired as I was. You look better, too."

"Yeah, I am feeling better today." Sharon looked toward the hall when she heard Mark coughing from Rusty's room.

Rusty's eyes widened. "Who is _that_?"

"Mark. He woke up sick this morning, so I kept him home. I'm afraid he has the flu, too."

"Oh yeah, I forgot he spent the night last night. Poor kid."

"I know. He looked miserable this morning. Let me go check on him." Sharon walked down the hall and peeked into Rusty's room, but Mark was still asleep.

Rusty was ladling soup into two bowls when Sharon came back to the kitchen. "Will Mark want some, too?"

Sharon shook her head. "He's still asleep. Julio's coming soon to take him to the doctor, and he might eat a little before they leave, but I'm not going to wake him up yet."

Rusty wrinkled his nose. "Ew, that Tamiflu's going to make him throw up his toenails."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the image."

"You're welcome."

After lunch, Sharon stripped her sweaty sheets from her bed and started the washing machine. She'd been getting headaches off and on since she'd been sick, and a particularly brutal one was threatening to form behind her eyes. Still feeling gross from her fever breaking the night before, she decided that a couple of Tylenol and a hot bath would help. She felt gross from her fever breaking the night before, anyway, and she wanted to take a bath before putting some clean clothes on. After swallowing three pills, she peeled her clammy nightgown off and started her bath. Once she'd added her favorite bath salts and tied her hair up, she carefully lowered herself into the bathtub and let out a contented sigh. Her limbs still felt heavy and achy, and the hot bath was just what she needed. She stayed in until the water started to turn lukewarm and was tempted to add more hot water, but Mark would probably be awake soon, so she begrudgingly climbed out of the bathtub. After drying herself off, she slipped into her favorite robe and made sure to open the door to the hall before going to her room to change clothes. She smiled to herself as she remembered how Rusty would whine about having to wait to use the bathroom because she would forget to open the hall door before leaving the bathroom through the door to her bedroom during the couple of months after he moved in, so he always thought she was still in there. Doing that was second nature now, even when she was home by herself. Once she was dressed in yoga pants and one of Andy's Dodgers sweatshirts, she brewed a mug of tea for herself, went back to Rusty's room, and read on his bed while Mark continued sleeping beside her. He hadn't moved.

A little while later, Sharon heard Rusty letting Julio in and heavy footsteps coming down the hall. She didn't realize she'd started scratching Mark's back at some point until she heard Julio come in the room and pulled her hand back. Hi, ma'am, thanks for taking care of him."

Sharon looked up. "I'm glad we could help. He hasn't been any trouble...Julio, don't worry about that," she said when he started picking up Mark's things that were scattered around the room.

"I'm going to take his things with us so we don't have to come back later."

Sharon tilted her head. "What's going on with your mom?"

Julio sat down on the other side of Mark. "She's still the same, but I can't leave a sick kid with you guys for another night."

"Of course you can, Julio, you need to be with your mom. Mark's fine here."

"I know he's okay, but...Will he feel like I'm not here for him? I don't know what to do," Julio admitted.

Sharon gave him a knowing smile. "I can relate. Just ask him what he wants to do. You may be able to tell what he's thinking." She looked fondly down at Mark and held her hand to his forehead. "I gave him some medicine this morning. I think it helped a little bit, but it's probably starting to wear off. His temperature was over 103 this morning."

"Thank you. If he complained a lot, I'm sorry."

"It was actually the opposite. He and Andy were about to walk out the door before I finally got up so I could take a look at him. I'd heard him coughing, but I kept expecting either Mark to complain about not feeling well or Andy to ask him if he was okay." Sharon smiled wryly. "Poor Andy, all he's heard around here for the last week is coughing. Mark just blended in. I gave him some medicine and sat with him, and he went right back to sleep."

Julio nodded, but then another thought occurred to him. "Wait, would _I_ have noticed if he didn't say anything?"

"I'm sure you would have. You definitely would've heard him coughing, Andy was probably just in the habit of trying to tune it out."

Julio looked slightly relieved. "Just when I think I have a handle on the parenting thing, something happens that makes me realize I don't have a clue."

Sharon chuckled. "Join the club. Those moments never end. I was a clueless, nervous wreck the first few times Emily or Ricky got sick, but I learned, and so will you. You'll be fine. When Emily was about Mark's age, she'd been complaining of a sore throat for three days and begging to stay home, but she didn't seem to feel bad, never had a fever, and her voice didn't sound that bad. I thought she was faking, but then she started asking to go to the doctor. I said 'fine, but I'm making your appointment for after school,' thinking she would give it up, but she didn't. I was a little embarrassed to take her for what I thought was nothing, but she had some uncommon strain of Strep Throat that didn't cause a fever and needed an antibiotic. I felt _terrible_."

Julio smiled, but the smile didn't quite meet his eyes. "I bet you did, but it makes me feel a little better, if that helps." He looked down at Mark, and Sharon didn't miss the sadness in his eyes. It didn't sound like his mom was doing well at all. "He looks so sweet like this, doesn't he?" He was trying to sound lighthearted, but there was an underlying melancholy in his voice. He watched as Sharon gently brushed his hair back from his face, and was actually a little relieved to be leaving him with her. He knew she would know what to do for him. Taking care of a sick kid wasn't something he'd ever done before.

Sharon nodded. "I've thought the same thing many times in the last few years."

Julio pulled the covers down and patted Mark's back. "Hey, bud, it's time to get up."

"Noooooo," Mark protested, blindly reaching for the covers. He cracked an eye open in Julio's direction. "How's Nana? Is she coming home?"

"Uh...Not yet," Julio answered slowly.

"Are you staying with her tonight? I don't want her to be by herself at the hospital."

Well, _that_ was easy. "I can do that, or I can take you home," Julio answered. "It's up to you."

Mark shook his head. "I can stay here."

Julio got up and gathered some clean clothes for him. "Okay. We'll let you get dressed, and then I'm taking you to the doctor."

Sharon helped Mark sit up and offered him his glass of Pedialyte. He gulped it down, thirsty after being asleep for so long. Sharon patted his back when he started coughing, then refilled his glass, and she and Julio went to the living room so he could get dressed.

Sharon sat beside Rusty on the couch, and Julio sat in one of the chairs. "Are you guys feeling better? This flu was no joke."

"I'm a lot better, but Mom still looks like death," Rusty reported.

Julio eyed Sharon worriedly. "Are you sure you're up for keeping Mark again tonight?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Mark's fine, Julio, I haven't had to do much for him at all, and I feel a good bit better. Andy will be here tonight, and Rusty will still be here tomorrow if I need help. What about you? I went down not long after you did.

"All right..." Julio's voice trailed off when they heard Mark coming down the hall. "It wasn't that bad for me, but I had a flu shot, so it probably wasn't as bad for me. Mark did, too, so I hope it's not too bad for him." He looked at Mark. "You ready to go?" Mark shrugged indifferently and leaned against Julio's side. "Thanks, you guys. We'll be back in a couple of hours." Julio wrapped his arm around Mark and led him out the door.

 **This was supposed to be longer and the last chapter, but I wasn't quite ready to be finished with it, so I'm sorry for the awkward ending. Thanks for still reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

When Julio got back to the condo with Mark on Thursday afternoon, Sharon and Rusty hadn't moved from the couch. She'd given Julio her key before he left with Mark so they could let themselves in when they got back. "Hey, bud, go put some clean pajamas on. I put an extra pair in your bag yesterday." Mark nodded and slowly trudged down the hall. Julio gave Sharon a concerned look. "Are you sure this is okay? You guys don't look so good."

"We'll be fine, Julio, Mark's not a problem. I don't feel as bad as I look, and Rusty's a lot better—he's mostly just soaking up every last bit of sympathy he can get."

Rusty quickly sat up and away from Sharon. "I am not! I—yeah, you're right."

Sharon gave Julio a knowing look. "See? Neither of us are a hundred percent, but we can just be three knots on a log instead of two."

"All right..." Julio started opening the package from the pharmacy when he heard the toilet flush, indicating that Mark would be coming back down the hall shortly.

"He'll need to eat something first," Sharon advised. "There's some chicken soup in the refrigerator, or there's plenty of cereal if he'd rather have that."

"Soup will be fine. Thanks, ma'am." Julio went to the kitchen and started warming up a small bowl.

Mark shuffled into the living room and looked around uncertainly, like he didn't know what to do, so Sharon opened her arms toward him. "Come here, honey."

Mark gratefully sat down and lay against her. "I don't feel good."

Sharon gave him her signature sympathetic look and kissed his burning forehead. "I know you don't, baby. You need to eat a little bit and take your medicine, and then you can pick out a movie to watch."

"I'm not hungry," Mark whined.

"I know, but you have to take your medicine, and it'll make your stomach hurt if you don't eat something first." Mark winced and pressed his head into Sharon's arm when the microwave beeped. "Does your head hurt?"

"Mm-hmm."

Julio brought Mark's soup and a glass of pedialyte to the couch. "Here, drink some of this first."

Sharon looked at her watch and started to get up. "He can have some more cold and flu medicine, too—"

"I've got it." Julio set the bowl on the coffee table and went to get the medicine.

"He can have two and a half," Sharon told him when she saw him reading the back of the box. "There's already a half on the paper towel on the counter."

Julio brought the pills over to the couch and placed them in Mark's hand. "Chew them up—"

"I _know_ ," Mark grumbled irritably. Julio gave him a warning look.

"Don't worry, Julio. Have you _met_ Rusty? You know I can handle grumpy."

"You're one to talk," Rusty mumbled. "I have _nothing_ on Sick Darth. I'm surprised Andy hasn't checked into a hotel by now."

Sharon glowered at Rusty. "I _wasn't_ that bad."

Rusty snorted. "Right."

When Mark was finished eating, Julio measured the appropriate dose of liquid Tamiflu into the syringe that had come with it. Mark made a face as he swallowed it and took a couple of gulps from his glass. "Don't give them a hard time about eating dinner or taking your medicine tonight," Julio warned. He leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I love you. _Behave_. If you want me to come get you, or if you just want to talk, one of these guys will let you use their phone, okay?"

Mark nodded sleepily. "Love you." Julio put Mark's bowl in the dishwasher and straightened up his things in Rusty's room while Mark navigated through Sharon's Netflix for a movie. When he found one, Sharon lay down, pressed against the back of the couch, and gently positioned Mark to lie down in front of her. He reminded her so much of Ricky at this age, when he was "too old" for hugs and kisses from Mom, but when he was sick, he was a permanent fixture snuggled into her side. Mark willingly complied as she settled him in front of her, covered them both with a blanket, and put her arm around him. She'd spent countless hours lying like this with Emily and Ricky when they were younger and didn't feel well. Rusty was on the other end of the couch with his computer, clearly not interested in a nine-year-old's movie.

Julio came back in and paused for a few moments as he watched Sharon get Mark comfortable against her and put her hand on his forehead. "Does your face feel hot?" She remembered her face feeling uncomfortably hot for much of the first few days she was sick, despite being cold everywhere else.

"Mm-hmm."

"I'll get a cloth, ma'am," Julio offered.

"Thank you. They're in the drawer beside the sink. Make sure the water's tepid. It doesn't need to be cold."

Julio dampened a cloth and gave it to Sharon. "I'd be a nervous wreck if I had him by myself," he admitted. "Until now, my mom's been around when I needed advice, but now..." He trailed off as a sad expression came over his face.

Sharon gently dabbed the cloth against Mark's cheeks and forehead. "You would've been fine, Julio. It seems like I called my parents every time Emily or Ricky so much as sneezed until Emily was about five. Mark can at least tell you what's wrong. Trying to comfort a screaming baby that's burning up with fever and can't tell you where it hurts is the most helpless feeling in the world."

Julio winced. "I can't imagine."

Sharon's expression softened. "We're here for you, Julio. We can keep Mark as long as you need us to, but please let us know if we can do anything else for you." Sharon had been pretty lucky with her parents' health so far, and even at 61, she couldn't imagine one of them being in the hospital right now and possibly dying.

"I will. Thank you." Julio turned back to Mark to tell him goodbye one more time. "Love you, Little Duck. Be good."

"You too, Duck," Mark murmured. **(A/N: I could've sworn there was a little scene like this in the episode after Sharon and Andy got engaged, which is where I got this from. I still haven't been able to go back and watch old episodes after the horrendous sixth season (which did not happen, lol), so if I'm not remembering that correctly, I'm sorry!)**

Once Julio was gone, Sharon ran her fingers through Mark's hair as he watched the movie, and he was asleep thirty minutes into it. She paused the movie so he could finish it later and was soon sleeping along with him, so Rusty gladly took control of the TV. When Sharon woke up a couple of hours later, she was hot from Mark's fevered little body being cuddled against her, the blanket that was covering them, and the fact that it was still warmer than usual in the condo. By the time her fever and chills were gone, Mark had gotten sick, so she hadn't turned the thermostat back down. She carefully eased herself away from Mark and got up to go to the bathroom.

"Mom, are you okay?" Rusty asked nervously, seeing that she was pale and sweating.

"I'm fine, honey. Just _hot_. Mark feels like a little furnace."

"It _is_ hot in here," Rusty complained.

"Well, _someone_ was whining about 'freezing to death' just last week, so..."

Rusty wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I guess that was me."

Sharon leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'm glad you're feeling better." When she got back from the bathroom, Mark was beginning to stir. She knelt beside the couch and brushed his bangs back from his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better. Head doesn't hurt," Mark mumbled.

"You feel like your temperature went down a little bit," Sharon agreed as she helped him sit up and take a few sips of pedialyte. "Do you want a popsicle?" Mark nodded. "What flavor?"

"Purple."

Sharon got a grape popsicle from the freezer and pushed the top of it through the wrapper before giving it to him. Mark's popsicle was halfway gone when a slightly panicked look crossed his face. "Thank you," he said hurriedly, remembering he'd forgotten to say it when she gave him the popsicle.

"You're welcome. It's okay, honey, I think we all forget our manners a little bit when we don't feel good." Sharon turned the movie Mark had been watching back on, and by the time it was over, Andy was home from work.

Andy kissed Sharon and ruffled Mark's hair after putting his things down. "How are you guys feeling?"

"I'm feeling better, but this one is miserable," Sharon said, nodding at Mark. He was lying against her, half-asleep.

Andy unpacked the take-out he'd gotten and put some of the soup Rusty had made on the stove to warm up for Sharon and Mark. She'd told him not to get her anything when he'd texted her that he was picking up dinner, but he'd gotten something for her anyway, hoping she would eat more than soup. "I know you said you didn't want anything, but I got you that veggie wrap you like. Your appetite should be coming back a little by now." Andy took containers for Sharon and Rusty to the couch. Rusty dove into his, but Sharon gently pushed hers away.

"Thank you, but put it in the refrigerator, please. I'll eat it tomorrow." Sharon didn't feel sick or anything, there just wasn't much that sounded appealing to her.

"Sharon—"

"I'm _fine_ , Andy, I'm just not hungry." Andy sighed in defeat and put it in the refrigerator. When the soup was warm, he made bowls for Sharon and Mark before sitting in a chair with his own food.

"Andy's right, Mom, I was dying for a burger when I'd been sick as long as you have been now," Rusty spoke up.

"Not you, too!" Sharon groaned. "I'm _fine_."

After dinner, Sharon gave Mark his Tamiflu with less whining than she'd expected, and he was sleeping against her not long after that. She wrapped her arms around him and let him sleep, not expecting him to sleep until bedtime, but he was still sleeping at 9:00. Sharon was starting to get drowsy, too, and she knew they should put Mark to bed, but she was comfortable against Andy and didn't want to move. She was going to have to get up to pee soon, though, so they might as well go ahead and put him in bed. "I'll take Mark to bed," Andy said, as though he'd read her mind. He carefully gathered the boy in his arms, hoping to be able to get him in bed without waking him up. He was halfway down the hall when a thought occurred to Sharon.

"Andy, wake him up and tell him to go to the bathroom, please. He hasn't been since before you got home."

Andy came back into the living room. Mark hadn't stirred. "Do you really think that's necessary?"

"Oh, my god, please take him. I don't want him peeing in my bed!" Rusty interjected.

Sharon shrugged. "Julio mentioned earlier that he seemed to be in the middle of a growth spurt, and those sometimes caused Ricky to have nighttime accidents until he was about ten. It didn't happen that often, but if he was sick at the same time, then he was almost guaranteed to wet the bed, even though he went to the bathroom right before he went to sleep." She wouldn't mind if that happened and would understand, but she knew it would embarrass and upset Mark. "I need to give him some more of that cold and flu medicine, anyway."

Andy reluctantly woke Mark up as he walked back down the hall. "Go to the bathroom if you need to, and then we'll bring you some medicine, okay?" Mark nodded and shuffled into the bathroom. He normally would've protested about being told, but he was too tired, and he _did_ have to go a little bit. Andy went back to the kitchen, where Sharon was cutting a pill in half. "Here, I'll take this to him. You can go ahead and get ready for bed."

Sharon shook her head. "I want to tuck him in. I've been with him all day, I think he's pretty comfortable with me by now." Andy knew better than to argue, so he didn't say anything as she got two more pills, fixed a small glass of water, and walked down the hall. Mark was under the covers in Rusty's bed, half asleep. Sharon sat on the edge of the bed and kissed his forehead. "I think your temperature went up a little bit, but the medicine will help." Mark heaved a disinterested sigh and took the medicine. Sharon took the glass of water from him after he'd taken a couple of sips and tucked him in. "Come get us if you need anything during the night. If you wake up and feel worse or can't go back to sleep, you need to come wake one of us up, okay?" Mark nodded and curled up on his side, wanting to go back to sleep. Sharon lay beside him, rubbing his back and humming softly, until she knew he was deeply asleep. She leaned down and kissed his forehead again before carefully getting up. "Feel better, sweet boy," she murmured as she smoothed her hand over his face. She turned the lamp on at the end of the hall in case Mark needed to get up during the night on her way out.

Sharon had gotten sweaty again after holding a feverish child against her for most of the day in a warmer-than-normal condo, so she decided to take a bath for the second time that day. While the bathwater ran, she brushed her teeth, tied her hair up, was finally able to pee, and found her most lightweight nightgown to put on when she got out. She sighed contentedly as she lowered herself into the bathtub, and the warm water and relaxing scent of her bath oils nearly put her to sleep. A little while later, she dragged herself out and was about to dry herself off when her phone started ringing. She hastily wrapped her towel around herself and hurried into her room in case it was Julio or work, but it was her dad. She hadn't talked to her parents in a while, so she went ahead and answered. "Hi, Dad," she greeted, trying to make her voice sound as strong and normal as possible. She couldn't fool him, though, much like her own children couldn't fool her.

"Honey, What's the matter? How long have you been sick?"

Sharon curled up on her bed, making sure she was adequately covered by her towel in case Rusty came in. She'd gotten used to her congested and raspy-sounding voice, but of course her dad noticed it right away. "Since last Friday night. Rusty and I have had the flu, but we're both a lot better."

"You don't sound like it," her dad said skeptically. "Are you getting enough rest? Drinking fluids?"

"Yes, Dad, and I feel better than I sound."

"Did you go to the doctor?"

Sharon shook her head as if he could see her. "No. I knew it was the flu, and taking Tamiflu didn't help Rusty that much when he took it a few years ago, and it made him sick to his stomach, so I didn't make him go, either. There wouldn't have been any other reason to go."

"You need to call your doctor if you're not feeling better in the next few days, honey."

"It's barely been a week, Dad, and this flu strain is just brutal. One of my detective's mom is in the hospital with complications, so we're keeping his foster son for a few nights, and he woke up sick this morning, too."

"If you don't get enough rest, you'll wind up in the hospital, yourself. You're not doing too much, are you?"

That question would've annoyed Sharon coming from her mom, and it had already annoyed her more than once coming from Andy, but her dad's hovering had never bothered her, for some reason. "I'm getting plenty of rest, Dad, don't worry. Poor Andy, he's been trying to take care of me, but I keep snapping at him. It's been a long time since I've been taken care of, and I'm not used to it."

"You're snapping at him because you're your mother's child, not because you're not used to being taken care of," her dad corrected her. "Your mom bites my head off if I just look at her the wrong way when she's sick...Anyway, we haven't talked in a while, so I just wanted to check in. I won't keep you, though, since you're not feeling well."

"Thanks for calling, Dad. I love you."

"I love you, baby. Feel better. I'll call back in a couple of days and see how you're feeling."

"Who's sick?" Sharon heard her mom ask in the background. Sharon groaned inwardly. She'd been _so_ close. She normally loved talking to her mom, but she knew she wasn't getting off of the phone anytime soon now.

"Sharon and Rusty have had the flu," her dad explained.

"Are they—"

Sharon's dad patiently relayed the information he'd just gotten from her to her mom. She and her mom talked for a few minutes after that until she heard her dad again. "Let her go to bed, you know she's not feeling well!"

"Okay, okay," Sharon's mom answered in a huff.

They said their goodbyes, and Sharon properly dried herself off before pulling her nightgown over her head and slipping between the sheets. She was exhausted. The cool, clean linens felt amazing, and she was almost asleep when she heard a soft clink against her nightstand that was probably a glass of water and felt a soft kiss being pressed to her forehead. "Hmm," she murmured, blindly reaching out with her hand until she found Andy's. "Sorry I've been so grouchy."

"It's okay. I just want you to feel better." Andy helped her sit up and patted her back when she started coughing and gave her the glass of water when she was finished. "Do you need anything?"

Sharon shook her head as she lay back down. "Just tell Rusty I said 'goodnight,' please."

"I will. I'm coming to bed soon. Sleep well."

"Hmm." Sharon fell asleep and didn't wake up again until a few hours later. The unmistakable sound of retching was coming from the bathroom, and she groaned softly before pushing the covers back and sitting up.

"I'll get it," Andy mumbled, sitting up himself.

"No, I've got it."

"Sharon, you need to rest—"

"I'm already awake, Andy, waiting a few minutes before I go back to sleep won't kill me." Sharon stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. "Oh, Mark, you could've called out for me." She dampened a wash cloth in the sink and wiped his face as she patted his back. "It's okay, honey." When his stomach finally calmed down, she flushed the toilet and wiped his mouth with the cloth. She could see that some vomit had gotten on his pajamas, so she squirted some soap into the bathtub and started running the water. "I'll get a glass of water for you, and then you can take a bath and get back in bed. I'll find one of Rusty's t-shirts for you to wear so I can wash your pjs."

"Thanks," Mark mumbled. "Um..."

"What is it?" Sharon prompted. "Did you not quite make it?" Mark shook his head miserably. "That's okay. I'll change your sheets if I need to and clean up anywhere else that needs it." She kissed his forehead, then placed her hand there for a few moments. The child was still burning up. "Don't worry about it, honey, you couldn't help it. I'll be right back." Sharon got a glass of water, a t-shirt from Rusty's bureau, and a fresh pair of underpants from Mark's bag, thinking he wouldn't want to put the ones he'd been wearing all day back on after a bath, and went back to him. "Here, rinse your mouth out." Sharon studied Mark closely as he took a sip of water and spit into the sink. "Does your stomach feel okay now?" Mark nodded weakly. "All right. Try to drink a little bit more water before you get in the bathtub, and then I'll give you some more medicine before you go back to bed."

Mark eyed her warily. "The chew-up kind, or the gross kind?"

Sharon smiled at him. "The chew-up kind. You don't have to take the gross kind again until tomorrow. Just toss your pjs into the hall before you get in the bath, and I'll take care of them." She closed the bathroom door behind her and went into Rusty's room to see what needed to be cleaned up, carefully avoiding the trail of vomit across the hall. Mark had only gotten a little bit of vomit on the sheets and had managed to avoid the comforter and rug, and this was the easiest middle-of-the-night vomit cleanup job she'd ever had. By the time she got the sheets off of the bed and found Mark's pajamas from the night before, he had put the pajamas he had just taken off in the hall. Once the vomit had been rinsed out where necessary, medicine for Mark was gathered, and the washing machine was humming, she cleaned up the spots of vomit that had escaped between Rusty's bed and the bathroom and made up the bed with fresh sheets. She turned the light back off and lay down in Rusty's bed to wait for Mark, and she almost wished she had let Andy handle this one. She was exhausted.

Sharon heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on a few minutes later, and Mark was soon back in bed. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, eyeing the new sheets after he took his medicine.

"Honey, it's okay. The last time Rusty had the flu, he threw up on the living room rug. I didn't think I was _ever_ going to get it out! He didn't wake up in time to realize he felt sick, and I know you didn't, either. Don't worry about it." When Mark didn't look convinced and didn't relax under her touch when she started rubbing his back like he'd done before, a thought occurred to Sharon. Nicole, Dean, and their boys were going to be overseas for the wedding because of Nicole's and Dean's jobs, and with her unexpectedly short a bridesmaid, Rusty had jokingly volunteered to be the ring bearer, since Nicole's absence meant that there was now one groomsman too many. He probably hadn't expected her to agree, but he hadn't complained about it. She'd been meaning to ask Mark if he wanted to be in the wedding, too, and she figured now was just as good of a time as any. "Mark? You know how Andy and I are getting married in a few weeks?" He nodded. "Well, Andy's grandsons were supposed to be the ring bearers, but they can't anymore. Rusty's going to be one now, and Andy and I would like for you to be the other one, if you want to."

Mark's eyes brightened a little. "Really?"

Sharon nodded. "You feel like family to us, honey, and we'd love for you to be with us on our wedding day."

Mark looked more comfortable now, so Sharon lay down and started rubbing his back again, hoping he would drop off soon. He fell asleep a few minutes later, and Sharon was half-asleep, herself, so she just stayed where she was for the rest of the night.

 **A/N: I know the explanation for Nicole's and her family's absence at the wedding was lame, but at least I addressed it, unlike _someone_ I can think of who writes for a living. :)**

 **There will be one more chapter, but that one will be the last one, for real. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	6. Chapter 6

On Friday morning, Sharon could tell she wasn't in her own bed before she even opened her eyes. _Where_ —Mark's coughing interrupted her thoughts and solved the mystery of where she was. Eyes still closed, she reached over and patted his back. She was about to go back to sleep when she felt Andy sit on the side of the bed. "Hey," she murmured.

"Hey. I knew I should've gotten up with the kid last night. You're doing too much."

"I'm _fine_ ," Sharon insisted. "Just tired."

"Well, I'm coming home early this afternoon, and you're not lifting a finger all weekend."

"Andy—"

"You shouldn't still be this sick, Sharon. If you're not a lot better on Monday, I'm calling your doctor, whether you like it or not. Rusty was—"

"So I haven't recovered from the flu as quickly as a 22 year old. Call the paramedics." Sharon pulled the covers over her head, indicating that the conversation was over. Not feeling well always put her in a sour mood, and Andy wasn't helping.

Andy gently lowered the covers so he could get a good look at her. Her voice sounded a little better, but not much. "I brought you a glass of water. Do you need anything else before I leave?" Sharon shook her head. "Call me if you need anything." Andy leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Feel better, honey. Love you."

"Thanks. Love you." Sharon gave Andy an apologetic smile. He softly ran his hand over her cheek before leaving the room.

A couple of hours later, Sharon got up to switch the vomit laundry from the night before to the dryer. When the dryer turned off, she folded Mark's clean clothes and put them in Rusty's room where he would see them when he woke up. She heard him padding down the hall a little while later, and he'd replaced Rusty's t-shirt with a pair of his clean pajamas. She gave him a sympathetic look as he coughed into his elbow and climbed on the couch beside her. "Morning, honey. How are you feeling?"

"Not good." Mark shivered and pressed himself against Sharon, so she covered him with a blanket and tucked it around his shoulders. "Let me get you some medicine—"

"I've got it." Rusty jumped up before Sharon could move. She was right, the whispered conversation between Andy and Rusty she hadn't quite been able to overhear that morning _had_ been about her. If everyone would leave her the hell alone, that would be _great_. "Mom? Do you need some Tylenol or anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Sharon helped Mark get situated and held the back of her hand to his forehead. "Rusty? Grab the thermometer, please." Mark groaned. "I know, Rusty hates the thermometer, too." Rusty gave Sharon the thermometer and put the medicine and juice for Mark on the coffee table. "Thanks, honey." She held the thermometer in Mark's mouth, amid his protests. "Still over 103, but it should start going down tomorrow or Sunday." Sharon gave Mark some medicine and found something on TV for him to watch.

Andy came home even earlier that afternoon than he had planned. It had been too long since they had a case, so one had to be coming. He was afraid it was the calm before the storm. Rusty was on the couch looking at his computer. "Where's your mom?"

Rusty looked down the hall. "Oh, Mark started barfing a couple of minutes ago. You know she's hovering...I got medicine and lunch and whatever else Mom or Mark needed today," he defended himself. "But I draw the line at puke."

Andy chuckled. "I can't say I blame you." He got a glass of water and walked down the hall. Sharon was patting Mark's back and wiping his face with a damp cloth as he gagged violently.

"It's okay, honey," she soothed.

"I'll clean up in here," Andy offered a couple of minutes later as Mark was rinsing his mouth out.

"Thank you." Sharon kissed him and led Mark back to the couch. Later that evening, he refused dinner while she, Rusty, and Andy were eating. Mark had been difficult at lunchtime, so she'd asked Andy to buy some ice cream on the way home, thinking she'd probably have to resort to bribery to get him to eat. "How about a milkshake?" Sharon finally offered after the anticipated struggle from Mark. "Andy makes the _best_ milkshakes."

Mark gave her a disbelieving look. "He doesn't even eat ice cream. Don't get me started on how weird _that_ is."

Sharon smiled. "I know, right? He _does_ make good milkshakes, though, I promise. And you have to eat something."

"Fine," Mark huffed. Andy got up to make it, and the blender was soon whirring. When Mark was halfway finished with it, Sharon measured out his medicine for him and handed him the syringe. "I don't _want_ to throw up again!" He whined.

"I know, honey, but you might not throw up again. You're probably used to the medicine by now, and it'll help you feel better faster."

Mark heaved a dramatic sigh, took the medicine, and finished his milkshake. "That _was_ good," he admitted as he handed his empty glass back to Sharon.

"Good. Now, drink a little bit more juice, and you can watch a movie until bedtime." A couple of hours later, Sharon tucked Mark into bed. "What's the matter?" She asked, noticing that he seemed a little down, sickness aside.

"Nothing...Um, is Nana going to be okay?"

"I hope so," Sharon answered truthfully. Julio had been vague any time she'd asked about her, but she had a feeling things weren't going well.

"I just...I finally _like_ her. It took a long time, but I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I know." Sharon let him FaceTime Julio from her phone, and he seemed to be in better spirits after that. Sharon tucked him in again and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, honey. Sweet dreams. Come get us if you need us, okay?" She stayed with him until he was asleep and went back to the living room. She'd taken a long nap with Mark that afternoon, and she was feeling better than she had that morning.

Andy looked up from the couch when she came back in. "I thought you were going to bed."

Sharon shook her head. "I slept all afternoon, and I'm feeling a lot better." She grinned as she sat between him and Rusty. "Why? Are you tired of me?"

"Never." Andy wrapped his arm around her and settled her against him.

"Okay, you guys, hands where I can see them!" Rusty demanded, looking disgusted.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Rusty, do you think we'd—"

"Stop. Don't finish that sentence. If you guys are going to sit that close to me, then I'm going to have to be able to see your hands."

Andy gave Sharon a suggestive look. "Well, if _that's_ the only rule—"

"Ewwwww, _Mom_! Make him stop!"

Sharon laughed, happy that things seemed to be returning to normal. It had been almost a week since she'd had a conversation with Andy where he wasn't acting like she was going to break. He'd probably be back to grating on her last nerve the next day, but for the time being, she was going to enjoy the normal banter.

Early the next morning, just before dawn, Sharon was pulled from a deep sleep when Andy's phone went off. Andy cursed quietly as he fumbled around on the nightstand for his phone. "Flynn," he mumbled, not taking the time to see who the caller was. He just assumed they'd been rolled out, but he couldn't go to a crime scene without Sharon because of some ridiculous LAPD policy. He wasn't about to wake her up for that, either. His tone softened when he heard Julio on the other end of the line. "Shit, Julio, I'm so sorry. I'll be right there." Sharon sat up, as it was obvious what the problem was. Seeing that she was awake, Andy turned his lamp on so he could change clothes. He didn't bother to explain, as Sharon obviously knew what was going on. "I should be back in a couple of hours," Andy said as he slipped a belt through the belt loops of his jeans. "I'm just going to help Julio with details at the hospital. Mike's still sick, and Buzz's only mode of transportation is his bike. I don't want Julio to be alone right now."

Sharon struggled to fight back tears, her heart breaking for Julio. "Please, go. I'd rather you be with him, too."

Andy pulled a sweater over his head, turned the lamp off, and kissed Sharon. "I'll be back soon."

With Andy gone, Sharon allowed herself to cry more freely. She preferred not to cry in front of anyone else, even Andy. She wiped her eyes and composed herself when she heard Mark walk across the hall and use the bathroom, praying that he'd just go back to bed. After she heard the sink turn off, though, the door from the bathroom to her bedroom slowly opened, and Mark peeked in. "What's the matter, honey? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. What happened? Is it Nana?" With the light from the bathroom illuminating Sharon's room, Mark didn't miss her redrimmed eyes holding unshed tears. "Nooooo," he pleaded, as tears filled his own eyes.

Sharon moved over and opened her arms toward Mark. "I'm so sorry, honey." He climbed into bed beside her, and she held him and rubbed his back as sobs wracked his body. She had no idea how long she sat with him in her arms before his breathing evened out and he was sleeping against her.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Sharon was sitting at her desk in the living room and trying to make a dent in the emails that had accumulated in her absence. She felt mostly back to normal and was going back to work the next day, whether Andy liked it or not. After a hurried phone call with Chief Mason, though, she hurriedly made herself presentable, got dressed, and walked out the door.

"Commander!" Amy greeted her when she entered the murder room. "We didn't think you were coming back until tomorrow."

"I heard we caught a case, and I'm fine. There's no reason for me not to be here." She looked around, realizing how much she'd missed everyone in the last week and a half. She'd seen them all at Julio's mother's funeral the afternoon before, but she was glad to see everyone again. Except Julio, of course, who was on bereavement leave. "So, what's going on?"

 ** _And then the first episode picks up (roughly at this point, but I still haven't rewatched any of the episodes, so I'm assuming I got some small detail wrong, and I don't need to be informed of that :) ). A Better Ending by MkSC (I think she's altered her screen name a little, I thought it was longer the last time she updated) replaces the last four shitty, nonexistent episodes with a story where Sharon lives and Stroh was dealt with with minimal attention, as it should've been._**

 ** _Thank you for reading!_**


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